The 6th Wave
by HarryPotter4Ever-celia
Summary: SPOILERS! Beyond this point, read at your own risk. In a world where Cassie didn't die, she and Evan set out to restore humanity, one recruit at a time. Now, there are no aliens, no Others. Now, all they have to worry about are misguided, trigger-happy children. Meanwhile, Ben and Marika have three children to take care of, now that Marika's had Razor's baby. K plus to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: I fell in love with**_ **The 5th Wave** _**series from the minute I opened the first book. Everything past this line contains major spoilers for**_ **Last Star** _ **, read at your own risk.**_

* * *

 _ **My favorite character is, without doubt, Evan Walker. If he had died, it would have made some sense. But**_ **no** _ **, it had to be Cassie.**_

 _ **What if things hadn't gone that way, though? What if instead, Ben and Marika had stayed to take care of the children, while Evan and Cassie went on a mission to restore humanity?**_

 _ **Their mission is the 6th Wave. Mistrust lies at the bottom of everyone's motivation. But bands of six will not be able to recreate the earth.**_

* * *

 **Evan Walker**

They had erased his memories. Then, they had cloned him. The only reason Evan Walker knew any of this was because he still had a conscience.

Something was nagging at him. The memory-less boy who didn't even know his own name was trying to find the one piece he could hold on to: love.

Vosch was still there. The boy knew his time was up; he knew that this man would kill him. After all, he had the clone.

Suddenly, there was a crash, and then a loud beeping. A voice blared over a loudspeaker:

"GENERAL ORDER FOUR IS NOW IN EFFECT. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO REPORT TO YOUR DESIGNATED SECURE AREA."

The technician made to grab the boy, but Vosch held him back. "No, Marvin. We have what we need. Let the pestilent rain take care of him."

The technician nodded, practically tripping over himself to get away.

 _Pestilent rain? That must mean there was a pestilence at some point. People had died. A little girl who lived in a farmhouse. Evan's sister. An older girl who loved strawberry ice cream. Evan's girlfriend. Who's Evan?_ I'm _Evan._

He knew his name now, but he didn't know who he _was_. Obviously, Vosch was a bad man; why else would he make it rain disease? So if Vosch was the bad guy, Evan must be here because he is the _good_ guy. Had Vosch taken his memories?

"GENERAL ORDER FOUR IS NOW IN EFFECT. YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE TO REPORT TO YOUR DESIGNATED SECURE AREA."

Evan leaned back and tried to remember more, but he still had no idea why he was there.

Thirty minutes pass. Vosch doesn't come back, but Evan knows he's probably dying from the pestilence anyway.

His sister's name was Valerie. She was the last person he talked to before….before what? There was something he had to figure out.

An hour. His girlfriend's name had been Lauren, but something tells him that she was not the reason he was here. She died even _before_ Valerie.

There was a crash, and Evan blinked. There seemed to be a battle going on outside, and somehow, he knew that _that_ was the reason he was here.

It took all the strength he could muster to stand, but he did. He pushed the door and ran out into the hall.

He didn't have all the facts. He had all the truths. He didn't know who the enemy was. The enemy was everyone. The enemy was Vosch. Vosch's plan had been for him to die. Vosch had meant for him to live. He was Evan Walker. The body now in front of him was Walker. No, that was for sure. _He_ was Walker, and the body was the clone.

At least it was dead.

"No!" A girl screamed from somewhere. Somewhere nearby. Was she an enemy? Was she the girl he loved? Was she an ally to her, or to him?

Evan knew it would probably backfire, but he located her. She was three rooms down.

When he got there, the girl was frantically searching her pockets for something. Evan realized with a jolt that he _knew_ her. She was a friend. She was the enemy. She thought he was dead. She believed he was alive.

He didn't care. He searched for a name. _Ranger_. No, that wasn't right. _Winger_. Nope, still wrong. It was hopeless; there was no way he could figure out her _nom de guerre_. And, he realized, that was exactly the problem.

Another name came to him, almost out of nowhere. He stared at her dark skin, her dark hair pulled back into a braid. "Marika."

The girl turned around sharply. She faced him with disbelief. " _Evan Walker_?"

* * *

 **Ringer**

"Marika." It was barely a whisper, in a clearly male voice. It would be impossible that it could be Ben; he wouldn't leave Megan and Nugget. Even if it were female, Cassie had gone to finish the fight. So there was only one other, highly implausible, explanation. But he hadn't known my real name.

All these thoughts took place in less than a second. I whipped around as best I could, my back being the way it was. " _Evan Walker_?"

"Where is she?"

She. Cassie. About to die, because of _my_ stupidity. I looked Evan in the eye. Could I trust him? Could I trust _anyone_?

He looked only halfway there, like he barely knew who I was. And that's when I knew he was the _real_ Evan Walker.

"They've wiped your memories." I didn't mean to say it, it just came out. "How did you find me?"

"They couldn't take my conscience. I worked from there. Where is she?"

I couldn't tell him. I had to tell him. "She-Cassie-is in trouble."

"Cassie." He rolled the word around in his brain.

"Why are you sitting here, Marika?" His face turned from confused to angry in an instant.

"Evan, I broke my back! I need to wait for the 12th system to repair it. Cassie has one of those bombs. It was supposed to be mine. And my name is Ringer! I don't know how you knew my given name, but you can forget it, like everything else!"

Evan only seemed to register the first half of what I said. "Bombs?"

I realized that Evan had no idea what I was talking about. Of course not. He had forgotten _Cassie_.

"Evan, look me in the eye. I'm going to fill you in briefly on your life, at least as I understand it. Cassie can fix the rest." Or at least, she _has_ the rest. I hoped she could give them back. If she survived.

"You are like Vosch, Evan Walker," I went on. "Or, you were. A part of you was human, and a part of you was Other. But unlike Vosch and everyone like him, you favored the human side. When you met Cassie Sullivan, you were in love. You helped her fight Vosch. We didn't think you'd make it out alive from Camp Haven, Vosch's first base. He trained children to kill humans, brainwashing them into believing _we_ were the aliens.

"You _did_ catch up with us, though. You met us at the hotel, and shortly after that-I wasn't there, but this is where the bombs come in-a little girl showed up. Her name was Megan, and Sammy-that's Cassie's brother, by the way-recognized her from earlier. She told you guys her throat hurt, but you didn't trust her. _You_ figured out that they were implanting bombs into children's throats. You, Cassie, and Ben-he's my boyfriend-were able to extract the bomb _without_ killing the girl. So she's part of our team now. And so are you.

"Cassie has one of those bombs with her. It was supposed to be mine, but I gave her my jacket because I could fight the pestilence. I've been enhanced by the 12th system."

Evan had been nodding along. "So, what should I do?" he finally said.

"You?"

"Better than you. _I_ can walk."

I considered him. "Carry me."

" _What_?"

"You are nothing without your memories, Evan Walker. You might have your mobility, but I have those. I don't like it either, but we have to trust each other. We have to work together."

Evan nodded solemnly.

* * *

 **Cassie**

Somebody thought it was a smart idea to put a freaking boulder on my chest. There's no other way to describe it.

After forever, the feeling of being compressed stops. Well, I don't mean _forever_ forever. Forever is a term we just throw around as if we can comprehend it. But we can't. Nobody can, even the Others. Really, it was about ten minutes.

I stare at the ground. Seventy percent blue, mostly brown, with a little bit of green. _Hello, Earth. This is how God made you, so he could look at you every day_.

Beautiful is another word we throw around too often, applying it from everything from cars to makeup. But there's no other word for it. The world is beautiful. I hope they never forget that.

 _Never forget, Sams. Love is forever. If it wasn't, it wouldn't be love. The world is beautiful. If it wasn't, it wouldn't be the world._

To Sam, I am a whole different Cassie. Not Marika's Cassie or Ben's Cassie or Megan's Cassie or Evan's Cassie or even Cassie's Cassie. Just Sam's Cassie.

I close my eyes as if to say goodbye to the beautiful earth. I see her then. Evan's Cassie.

I'm not the person I expected to find. At first, there's the _why can't I just kill her already_ , the Silencer part of Evan. Then, he lets his truth unfold. His Cassie sears the darkness with the brightness of a billion suns. He's as baffled by this as I am, as humanity is, as the Others are. He can't say why. There's no reason, no neat explanation. It's impossible to understand and impossibly irrelevant, like asking why anything exists in the first place.

He had the answer, all right. It just wasn't the answer I was looking for. I wish there was a chance for me to apologize.

I feel the weight of all the memories upon me. My mind will never again be just _my_ mind; nor my memories solely _my_ memories.

The mothership glides above me. _My name is Cassie. Not Cassie for Cassandra or Cassie for Cassidy. Not even Cassie for Cassiopeia. Not anymore. I am more than her now._

I had known this was coming. Even Ben Parish told me we all die eventually. And I had already seen Marika's gift. Maybe she didn't know it was a gift. But the pill bomb was there, and this camp couldn't stay. I put the pill to my lips.

 _Breathe_. It was as simple as that. _Breathe._

* * *

 **Evan Walker**

"Now!" Marika shouted. They'd only been watching the pod for a few seconds, not more than a minute.

Evan jumped, forgetting Marika was on his back; forgetting everything but Cassiopeia Sullivan.

"Idiot!" Marika screamed as she plummeted toward the pod with him. "You were supposed to leave me behind, Evan Walker!"

The 12th system would save her. He had to get to Cassie.

He punched the pod and scooped her into his arms, mid-jump. The next thing he knew, they were all on the ground, screaming and hoping the end would come quickly.

* * *

 **Zombie**

"Over there," Sam pointed as the whole camp shook. That kid was a squad all by himself.

I saw three bodies flailing to hold on to each other. I could distinctly make out a braid on one of them. If Ringer was there, then one of the other people had to be Cassie. I had no clue who the third one was.

"Come on," I demanded. Megan moaned a bit, and I swung her onto my back without a second thought. Sam was already way ahead of me.

"I'm coming, Cassie!" He yelled. Of all of us, he knew what he was doing the most.

I grabbed his arm as I reached him, and we dove. We had much less distance compared to the three others across from us. That was a good thing, because we would need to be in our best shape; Cassie and Ringer and their companion definitely weren't going to be.

Sam was up and running as soon as he hit land. I was a little slower, and I had Megan to contend with. "Are you hanging on, Megs?"

"Tight as I can," the little girl whispered.

"Then let's go."

* * *

 _ **A/N: I should probably change my name from Hufflepufferfish since I'm branching out from**_ **just** _**Harry Potter and Percy Jackson now. Let me know if you have any suggestions.**_

 _ **I only know the beginning of my story, but if there's any Fifth Wave lovers out there, I'd love to hear ideas. Please review. Hope you liked my first chapter!**_

 _ **~Hufflepufferfish (for now)**_


	2. Marble Falls

**Megan**

She was going to get a little sister. She wasn't exactly sure why she called Marika's baby her _sister_.

She had had a family once. She had a mother, a father, a big brother, and a grandmother. _What was her brother's name? What did her father look like? What perfume did her mother smell like? What did her grandmother wear to church?_

Megan knew they were dead, all of them. She had seen them die in front of her eyes, and then she had left. She used to let her brother push her around, but not any more. Megan made her own decisions now.

Megan had a new family here. People who took care of her, like a family should. Sam could have been her older brother. Sam _was_ her older brother. And if Sam was her brother, then Cassie must be her sister. What did that make Evan, Marika, and Ben?

The older ones took turns tucking Megan and Sam in at night. She clearly remembered Ben's words from the first night at Marble Falls.

"Megan, Sam, you cannot call me Zombie any more. Ringer is Marika, and Sam, you are no longer Nugget. We cannot let them win."

Ben had taken the least bad fall at the base. Marika was next to recover. She spoke to each of us separately.

"Megs," she said quietly as she pulled her aside one night. "The six of us, we're family now. Benjamin Parish. Samuel Sullivan. Cassiopeia Sullivan. Evan Walker. Me, Marika Kimura. And you. Megan."

"Megan Jones," she mumbled.

"Megan Jones," Marika agreed. "We are a family unit. We have to trust each other now. If you have any problems, don't keep them inside. We are here for you, Megs. I am. Ben is. Evan and Cassie, when they feel better. We're a family now, Megs. There are no more scary aliens. We are a family."

Marika gave the little girl a hug, and then pulled something out from behind her back. "Ben and I found these in a nearby toy store. It's for you."

Megan's eyes widened at the three Barbie dolls that Megan handed her. Her little arms wrapped around Marika. Megan hadn't had a hug in a very long time, and it seemed to her that Marika might not have had one, either.

She studied Marika. "Will you bring me a little sister to play Barbies with?"

Marika looked startled. "How did you know I'm going to have a baby?"

Megan thought about it. How _did_ she know?

"My mommy looked like you," she said finally. "She said I was going to have a little sister to play Barbies with. But my sister never came. The aliens came first."

Marika hugged her tighter. "I hope she's a girl. I want you to have a little sister to play Barbies with, Megs."

Megan smiled. It was the first time she'd felt like smiling since she'd lost her family.

* * *

 **Evan Walker**

He had recovered before Cassiopeia, and he was bored out of his mind. Ben, Marika, and even Sam had tried to fill him in on his memories, but it didn't work. Those were _their_ memories of him, not his own memories of his life. Every so often, he could grasp at snatches, but they were from _before_. Before the aliens showed up, before Cassie Sullivan was a thought that crossed his mind. As pleasant as those were, he didn't think they would be very helpful.

Marika told him that Cassie had his memories, his _true_ memories, inside of her. Ben and Marika often talked in low whispers about the best way to get them out. Evan didn't know if they knew-or cared-that he could actually hear them during these discussions.

All Evan knew was that he loved Cassie. He tended to her, as Ben told him he had done before. He wanted to be the first face she saw when she was fully aware of her surroundings.

He had only been in the bathroom for one minute when Megan gave a cry from the front room. "Eh-van! She's waking up!"

He thought of the irony. He wouldn't be the first person she saw. It would be _Megan_ of all people. Megan, who had no choice in being here. Evan, who had all the choice, wouldn't be Cassie's first face.

* * *

 **Cassie**

My eyes fluttered open. _I'm in the pod. I'm not in the pod. I'm falling, but Ringer's got me. Evan's got me too. But Evan is dead. So that must mean Ringer's dead. And_ that _must mean_ I'm _dead_.

"Eh-van! she's awake!"

Megan. Shit. I had hoped at least Ben and the young ones had survived. Apparently not. If Megan was calling for Evan, we were all dead.

There was a clatter. "Cassie! Cassie! Cassiopeia Sullivan, can you hear me?"

 _If dead people can talk, then I really_ must _be in Heaven. Evan Walker is dead._ I _am dead. But dead people can't talk. They're dead._ It was too confusing.

I looked around the room. There was a couch, and carpet. I could smell something simmering on the stove. Three faces swam above me.

Megan was there, in all her four-year-old glory. Sammy, _my_ Sams, was leaning over me. And Evan was there. _Evan_! Evan Walker. My savior. Twice. No, more than that. Evan Walker had one true motivation for everything he'd done: me. Evan Walker loved me.

"Am I dead?"

"No." Evan sounded surer than he ever had.

I puzzled it over. "Evan, if I'm not dead, neither are you."

"That's right."

"How….?"

Two more faces floated in. "We killed a clone," Ringer said. "Oh, Cassie, we were sure you wouldn't make it. Evan and I tried to save you, and then Ben and Sam and Megan helped us, but Cassie….it would have been my fault!"

She launched herself onto me, but Evan and Ben dove forward to pull her off. "She's still hurt, Mar," Ben said quickly.

Huh. Ringer must have been going by Marika now. And Ben had a pet name for her. Just like Mayfly. Speaking of which….

Evan wrapped his arms around me and hoisted me onto the couch. "You were out for three days, Cassie. Marika was right. We didn't know if you were still with us."

There was only one thing on my mind. "How are you….here?"

"Vosch erased my memories, but he couldn't erase my _soul_. As they started General Order 4, he said something about pestilent rain. Then they left me, but I remembered the pestilence. I connected from there until I realized I was here for a reason. I found Marika, and we went from there."

"But I killed you," I whispered.

Evan shook his head. "You killed a clone. One that had all the Evan taken out of it."

"Okay." Strangely, it made sense. And then something made me jerk my head up. "You lost your _memories_?"

"Marika, Ben, and Sam filled me in on some stuff, but they said you'd be able to give me the rest."

"For sure." I located them in the sea of memories contained in me."True love's kiss?" I was flirting now, but I suspected it would work.

Evan shrugged. "Let's give it a shot."

I kissed him with more passion than ever before. I had known Evan Walker, truly known him, and I had wished I could apologize. This was even better.

Evan blinked. "You saved me, Mayfly."

Evan was back. I was back. And everyone was accounted for.

Marika brought me a slab of chocolate cake. "I baked it yesterday."

I'd ever tasted anything better. "Where did you find cake mix?" I wondered, my mouth full of chocolaty goodness.

Ben laughed. "This house came stocked. Also, you wouldn't believe how many people left all the foodstuffs they'd have to _prepare_. Cake mixes are a dime a dozen at the corner store.

It was great to be back.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I like writing happy fanfictions. Fics where people who were supposed to be dead, live, and where everyone lives happy ever after. I can't do the depressing stuff, but I like to have a lot of conflict. Still don't know where I'm going with this. Suggestions wanted.**_

 _ **~Hufflepufferfish (for now)**_


	3. November

**Marika**

When the time came, I wanted Cassie to be right by my side, and I wanted Ben to be in the next room, ready to play the father. Evan volunteered to act as the nurse, and Cassie assured me that he could do it. After all, he _had_ nursed her back to health. If it was good enough for her, it was good enough for me.

The birth was much easier than I had expected. I was glad; I couldn't have dealt with something where we needed the hospital. There simply wasn't one anymore. But she came painlessly. I could tell it was a girl even before I knew for sure. I was just happy she was alive, no matter the gender, but I knew Megan would appreciate that I brought her a little sister.

"Hello, little Teacup," I beamed at her. "Welcome to the world."

"You can't call her Teacup!" Cassie admonished.

"And why not?" I demanded.

Evan walked into the room, carrying a hot pad. "For the same reason that you go by Marika and Ben is no longer Zombie," he explained. "Take this, by the way. It should help with cramps." He scooped up the baby in his arms. "Uncle Evan's got you."

I softened a little bit, but I wouldn't let up. "But….I mean…." It was obvious they had rehearsed and planned for this to happen. "What else would I call her?"

"Her name was Allison," Cassie whispered.

Something was nagging at me. Yes, _Allison_. Vosch had called her that. And if Cassie knew that too, then it must be true. "But that's never how _we_ knew her," I argued.

Sam stumbled in then, Ben right behind him and carrying Megan. Cassie got up and pulled her brother close to her.

"Her name's Teacup, right?" Sam asked knowingly.

I reached out from the bed and ruffled his hair weakly. "Of course," I whispered, looking defiantly at Cassie and Evan.

Ben set Megan down. "Mar, you have _got_ to be kidding me. We all agreed we were done with that."

"You too?" I snapped. "She's _my_ baby, Ben."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "We were trying to tell her the same thing. She _won't_ listen." As if I weren't in the room.

"We _have_ to name her Teacup," Sam pleaded. "She was my friend!"

Cassie brought Sam closer to her. "We're naming her after her, Sams, but we might use her real name instead."

"I never knew her real name," Sam pouted. "So we can name the girl Teacup!"

"Sam," Ben said quietly, "do you remember when I came to talk to you and Megan about our names?"

"Yeah, but you never said anything about Rin-Marika's child!"

"I said we can't let them win, Sam."

"Megan," I piped up, "what do you think?"

"I never met her, so I don't care."

I sighed. Sam and I weren't going to win this one. "What if she were a boy?"

Ben didn't miss a beat. "Then we'd name him Kenny, after Oompah. The first boy who died with us."

I looked at Cassie for reassurance. She nodded. "I'm sorry, Marika, but we can't keep using them. We want to rebuild-"

"Who said anything about rebuilding?"

She glanced at Evan. "Once you're feeling better, we need to talk."

* * *

 **Ben**

After a week of arguing, Marika had finally given in. Our daughter would be Allison, and I was incredibly grateful. I'd _never_ expected to be a father this young, but I'd _never_ expected the Apocalypse in my lifetime either.

Marika barely had any adverse effects after her pregnancy, and she was back on her feet within a week. We all took turns playing with Megan and Sam and taking care of Allison. When they had all gone to bed, we chatted. Evan had found an old radio and some disks in the house, so sometimes we also danced. The music was good, even though it wasn't stuff that most seventeen-year-olds would listen to. Actually, there was a chance that _we_ were most seventeen-year-olds. When I brought up the fact that we didn't know if we were the oldest people left in the world, Cassie and Evan looked at each other uncomfortably.

Marika motioned for me to shut off the radio. "On the day Allison was born, you told me there was something important you had to say. Out with it."

"Evan and I have been discussing this," Cassie said, looking nervously at her boyfriend. "At first, we thought it might be best to kill all the survivors, so that there's never a doubt. But we decided, well…." she trailed off, and I raised my eyebrows at what she was suggesting.

"We want to explore," Evan finished for her. "We want to see who's left in the world, and we want to try and talk some sense into them. Cassie and I are planning to leave New Year's Day."

Marika rose, and I put my hand on her shoulder. "Why didn't you consult us first?"

"We knew you'd react badly," Cassie said quietly.

"I think it's safer for us just to stay-"

"No." Evan was firm. "There is a world of people out there, maybe people just like us, who think they're the last surviving group. There's seven continents to, and a good chance that the Others might not have hit every country in the world. There are secluded valleys and caves, and there are children who don't have parents." He looked at the ground, and I knew he was thinking of his sister.

"Imagine if we hadn't found Megan," Cassie continued, almost to herself. "Imagine how lonely Sams would be, and imagine how she would be….Dead, used as a pawn and as a bomb. Imagine if Evan and I hadn't found each other. He would be left with all the others, a mere Silencer who once believed he was going back to a good place before Vosch left him. I, on the other hand, would probably be dead. Also, we can't let the fate of the world left on seven people. Even if Ben and Marika could have children, and Evan and I could have children, and when they're older Sam and Megan could have children…." she shuddered slightly before continuing, "...it wouldn't be enough. Sam's children couldn't have kids with my children, and so both of our children will need to have children with _your_ children, and _then_ what?"

"Who said anything about having children?" I muttered.

"We have to be able to rebuild the world," Evan said calmly.

"Well, I still don't like that we're thinking about _Sam_ and _Megan_ having children. Or me and Marika, for that matter. I'd say you and Evan as well, but that's totally your decision. I'm not getting involved in your nonexistent sex life."

"That's why we need to find people. Also, I want to establish a sense of community. We've been living on our own for practically a year. When Evan found me, and when you guys came to your realization that Vosch _was_ your main problem, that's really when our sense of community developed. I want the world back, but I want to make it better. And Evan and I think that the only way we can do that is to bring people together. We must get them to believe we are the ones in the right."

Marika had gone pale, and very obviously lost in thought. "How, exactly, do you plan to do this? You can't just _get_ people to believe you."

"We have a secret weapon," Evan said mysteriously, then gestured to Cassie. "The memories."

* * *

 _ **A/N: So, I still don't know what I'm doing but I've gotten the ball rolling for what Evan and Cassie plan to do.**_

 _ **Thank you to user**_ _ **Tarbo134**_ _**for being my first reviewer and inspiring me to think I should write this more. It'll be slow going, and I'm very bad at actually writing stories from after the event takes place, but I'm really excited to see where this takes me.**_

 _ **Please review! Thank you! 3**_

 _ **~Celia**_


	4. Preparations

**Cassie**

"Remind me again," Marika demanded, barging into my room, "why you and Evan Walker are leaving in the dead of _winter_?"

I sighed. Ben had agreed after some fuss, but Marika wasn't letting this go. "Did you finally let Ben and Sam out of the house, Mari?" Ben would call her Mar, and Evan and I liked Mari.

"He's your brother, you should be more concerned. Allison doesn't even know what a Christmas tree _is_!"

"I doubt Megan really remembers either," I said plainly. "But _I_ happen to think it's exactly what we need."

"Evan was against it, too," she muttered. "And you still haven't answered my question."

"We've been here two months, Mari. We need to head out soon if we want any chance of convincing people; of finding people before they find us."

"Why are you leaving us here, then?"

"You have Ben. You'll be fine."

"He's your brother," Marika said again.

"If you've been trying to imply that Sams is weak-"

"Cassie, please!"

"There's this girl, Emma Dewitt," I said, digging through all the memories. "She never fully believed Vosch, but she kept quiet and did what she was told. Her one motivation was her sister, Madison. Madison died with a secret. I believe she knew the secret, but she resisted really hard in Wonderland. She fought back in her own way, so subtly that nobody ever noticed. Madison was involved in charity work around the world, and Emma could help us. She's just one example."

"Which group was she in?" Marika mumbled. "And why does it matter?"

"It matters because there are so many Emmas and so many kids who could be Emmas. It matters because there were mothers and fathers to take care of and fix these children, and now there are none. It matters because she's ten years old, which is the perfect time to meld a young mind, but something in her resisted to be melded."

Marika sighed in frustration. "Make me one promise, Cassie," she said sadly. "Don't trust anyone over the age of fifteen."

"Mari, you can't just make assumptions like that!"

"Evan said that all the Silencers were past the age of thirteen. Vosch would have also wanted to eliminate everyone who is of an age that they can think for themselves. Also, be careful with the bombs, and the young children. Just….know how to disable them, Cass."

I threw some shirts in a bag. We had decided that we could only take what we could carry in a drawstring bag. Each one of us had been "shopping" at least once. There was a toy store, where Sam and Ben were headed today. There was a Target, a Forever 21, and an independent T-shirt shop within five minutes walking distance. There was even a little grocery store that still had a lot of goods that barely needed any work at all to them, as well as rotten fruit. It was a nice little town, but Evan and I knew we couldn't say while the world perished around us.

"Why don't you just have Evan and Ben go?" Marika sighed.

"Gender roles, Mari, I can't believe you're thinking like that!"

"Then why don't you and I go?"

"You just gave birth, Marika! You can't just leave. She's _your_ daughter."

Marika huffed, upset that I had used her own tactic against her. "How will we know you're safe?" She sighed, clearly annoyed.

I puzzled over that. What was I even supposed to tell her? There were no phones, no ways of sending mail. I brought out the Christmas present I had intended to give her the next day. "Mari."

"What's this for?" She asked, holding out the intricate eagle pendant and chain that I had given her. "When did you have time to get it? And where?"

"I raided Target a few days ago, when everyone else was napping. But that's not important. I have faith in this eagle. As long as it stays on the chain, know that we'll be okay. If it falls, then you have reason to worry."

"How do you know?"

I didn't, but I wanted to reassure her. "I just do."

"I still don't think-"

"I'll have Evan. There's reason to go in pairs, you know. If we're all in one place, it's more dangerous. Especially with you and Allison, and with Megan and Sams."

"Fine, Cass. Just….stay safe, okay?"

"We will," Evan said, walking into my room. So much for the "please knock" sign that I had put up. Then again, Marika _had_ left the door open. "Ben and Sam are back, by the way." He looked at Marika as if to say, _see? They made it and we can too_ , and then rolled his eyes.

"You three!" Sam called from the living room. "Stop talking about the future. We need your help now!"

My heart skipped a beat, wondering what could be wrong, but then Ben said, "Sam! I just asked you to get them to help with the Christmas tree!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and then we all kind of burst out laughing.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Well, it's hard to write the Christmas scene in the middle of summer, but here we go. This is one of the stories where I really don't know where I'm going, and I know this chapter was super filler. Anyway, enjoy!**_

 _ **Please review**_

 _ **~Celia**_


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